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Plaça Catalunya

Plaça Catalunya is the city's commercial nerve centre. Until Barcelona's mediaeval city walls were demolished in the second half of the 19th century, it marked the start of the tree-lined avenue that led to the former town of Gràcia. When the Eixample ("Expansion") district had been defined, it was planned as a paved square with statutes, monumental fountains and ponds. Its design was commissioned from Puig i Cadafalch, the leading modernista architect, who worked on it between 1915 and 1923. Today, it is the meeting point for many locals.